Heavy industrial turbines, such as are used in the generation of electricity using steam, are susceptible to damage during cooling down after operation. Therefore, when the turbine needs to be taken off-line, a motor and turning gear are engaged to keep the turbine rotor turning at about 40 to 45 RPM (revolutions per minute) while the turbine unit cools down. The turning of the shaft and wheels during the cool-down period is helpful to prevent bowing of the rotor due to uneven cooling. However, even after the turbine has cooled down, the turning gear is sometimes engaged to prevent the rotor from deforming under its own weight, which could cause an imbalance and high vibrations on re-start of the turbine. However, prolonged operation of the turning gear could also cause turbine wheel dovetail damage due to bucket rocking. The rocking motion can also cause the buckets to wear prematurely at their Z-notch at the bucket root. To reduce bucket damage, the turbine rotor could be stopped completely. However, this solution is not desirable either because the turbine rotor will need a longer start-up period to remove the rotors' sag than if the turning gear was left running. Accordingly, persons responsible for maintaining and operating turbines are faced with either the possibility of premature bucket damage due to prolonged operation of the turning gear or longer turbine start-up periods. Accordingly, another solution is necessary to minimize or eliminate damage due to bucket rocking that would also allow for a quick start-up of the turbine.